Lockdown
by Mystical Authoress
Summary: AU. After finding a few Gurak creatures in slumber, three of them are brought into the laboratory to be examined, as the Gurak were belived to have died out hundreds of years ago. However, the three Gurak taken to the lab awaken, and things are thrown into a chaos that no one will be able to comprehend, not even the Gurak themselves.
1. Chapter 1

**Author note: I do not own the Last Story, or any sci-fi thing that influenced this fic into being.**

**Warning: Sci-fi AU, past ArgananxDagran, eventual AstharxMirania, other pairings currently undetermined, violence, further warnings will be placed in further on if needed**

**Constructive Criticism would be great, and I hope that you read, review and enjoy! Thanks! XD**

* * *

**_Lockdown_**

* * *

**00\. Awaken**

* * *

"How are they today, Therius?"

A white haired, younger man looked to the scientist, handing him a few reports. "The Gurak we brought in just yesterday are still stable, Dr. Arganan. However, they are still in their sleeping state."

"I see..." Dr. Arganan pushed back a lock of blond-turning-silver hair out of his face, his one metal hand gripping the reports as his other hand, covered in a white surgical glove, flipped through their pages. He then looked up at the three beings in the three glass tanks in front of them. They'd found the Gurak only yesterday-the Gurak were thought to be a species wiped out in a war against the humans hundreds of years ago, and now they found them in slumber, still very much alive. It was strange, finding out that these creatures were still alive despite the war that the humans won over them hundreds of years ago. It was so strange and intriguing that Dr. Arganan ordered right away for three of the hibernating Gurak found to be taken to the Lazulis Labs for examination.

And so, here the specimens were. They were Gurak men, all three of them, resting in their own tank, with ivs and needles pushed into their skin, keeping them alive, but in drugged unconsciousness. Just in case. So they wouldn't wake up by accident while examining them.

As Arganan and Therius examined the Gurak, Calista walked into the room quietly, a frown on her face as she looked to Jirall, who was only a few steps behind her. She hated the fact that she was to be married to Jirall-he was someone that she did not feel any romantic attachment to, and yet her uncle, Dr. Arganan, was going to get them married anyway.

It was all for the money, Calista was sure. Yes, the Arganan family was wealthy, but the Rambaldt family was almost equally so. And money was what kept the labs open, after all.

But either way, whether it be because Jirall actually loved her or the reason was money, Calista still hated it. Always would, always will.

"Uncle?"

Calista's uncle and Therius turned to her.

"What is it, Calista?" Arganan asked, handing the reports back to Therius as he spoke.

Calista swallowed slightly. "Asthar and Mirania are in the library now, looking up the names of the Gurak we brought in to examine to see if they were anyone...er...important in the war between the humans and Gurak."

"Good. If that is all, Calista, you can resume your other duties..." He looked to Dagran, blinking out a memory of something distracting. "The weapons the specimens had with them...what are they composed of?"

Dagran's golden eyes looked to the weapons on the table in front of him, just a few metres away from the tanks containing the Gurak. "They're made of pumice rock, mixed with steel and some unrecognizable metals...as for the blades of the swords, they contain titanium alloy...and...diamonds."

"Diamonds?" Arganan repeated. "So, are the blades just for ceremonial use?"

Dagran shook his head. "No. The blades are a bit worn-and not because of hundreds of years passing by, either-and I believe that these Gurak owning the weapons were fighting the war against humans hundreds of years ago."

"I see..."

Calista looked to the tank containing the three Gurak. The one in the middle tank was broader and taller than the other two Gurak, with flaming, thick red hair (not literally flaming, just in terms of colour), and black, jagged armor covering his being. The other two Gurak in the tanks to his left and right were thinner, of a more slender figure, with silver plated and chainmail armor covering their bodies.

She frowned at this-somehow, she couldn't help but feel bad for the Gurak. As far as she knew about them, the Gurak were beings that were like humans in some way-they had families, people they cared for. Maybe they didn't want to have a war in the first place, hundreds of years ago. But then again, she would never know, would she?

She heard Jirall chuckle behind her. "They're not so big and bad now, are they? Even now all they can do is sleep." He simpered. "But, if they were to wake, I can protect you, Calista..."

Calista let out a slow sigh, looking to her fiance. "I think I'm more than capable of protecting myself, thank you."

Her fiance's eyes darkened noticeably at that, but he didn't say anything. Calista looked to the tank containing the red-haired Gurak, before blinking.

...Was his hand glowing...orange?

"Uncle?" She spoke up slowly. "I..."

"What?" Her uncle walked over to her, looking to the tank, his one good eye squinting slightly to take a closer look at the mark. "This is strange. I haven't seen this before."

Therius also looked to the tank. "Neither have I, Dr. Ar-"

That was when the Gurak's eyes opened, revealing them to be completely dark. He didn't move for a moment, surveying the sight in front of him.

Arganan stared. "That shouldn't be possible-they shouldn't wak-"

That was when the Gurak's arm shot through the glass, grabbing Arganan by the neck, easily lifting him off the floor. Dagran gasped, taking out his gun and shooting at the Gurak's arm, causing Arganan to be dropped. The older man fell to the floor, Calista and Therius helping him up.

"Uncle, are you-"

"Doctor-"

Dagran winced as looked to the tanks adjacent to the red-haired Gurak.

"..Erm...I think they're all awake." He finally managed.

Simultaneously, the three tanks all shattered, glass flying in different directions. Therius felt his cheek being cut by one of the glass shards, and he quickly helped Arganan up.

"Doctor, we have to get-"

Arganan growled, pushing Therius away as he stood. "Shoot the damned lot. Better to have them dead for an autopsy than to keep them alive now that they're awake!" He snapped. He immediately took out a gun, shooting at the Gurak, but the bullets seemed to merely bounce off their armor, leaving them unharmed. "What...?"

The red-haired Gurak's right hand glowed a brighter orange, the weapons lifting themselves off the table and floating tot he Gurak. Dagran stared, frozen in his tracks as he watched, taking out his gun and trying to shoot the Gurak to stop them. It did nothing to faze them, however, and soon the weapons were back in their owners' hands.

Calista slowly began to back up as the red-haired Gurak looked to the Gurak beside him, his voice booming throughout the room as he spoke.

"Seize them all." The red-haired one spoke. Immediately the other two Gurak moved quickly, rushing towards them.

Jirall bit his lower lip, before turning and running straight out of the room. Calista looked to his direction, before looking to the others.

"Run!"

They all scrambled for the doors, only for Arganan to lag behind, still trying to shoot at the Gurak. His efforts were in vain as one of the two slender Gurak men caught up to him, first whacking the gun out of his hand. Arganan staggered, his good eye wide with shock as the Gurak soldier used the hilt of his sword to bash him in the side of the head, the older man crumpling to the ground immediately.

"Arganan!" Dagran turned away from the doors, rushing to Arganan.

Therius stopped in his tracks, looking to Dagran. "What are you doing!?" He yelled. "They'll kill you!"

Dagran shook his head, looking to Therius. "Therius, get Calista and everyone else to safety! I'll try to catch up with you after I help Dr. Arganan!"

Therius gritted his teeth, before he turned and rushed out of the room, making sure to grab Calista and drag her out of there, too. Dagran turned to the Gurak, continuing to shoot at them as he ran at them. One of the Gurak men rushed to swipe at him with his sword, and Dagran jumped, flipping above them before landing, turning and pushing the barrel of the gun against the Gurak's forehead.

"Don't move." Dagran snapped, and the Gurak seemed to only smile slightly at him.

That was when he felt the tip of a spear brushed against his chin. Dagran looked to his left to see none other than the red-haired Gurak holding the spear. glaring at him as he spoke.

"Drop your weapon at once."

Dagran let out a growl, before dropping his gun, letting it clatter on the ground. He then turned to the red-haired Gurak, keeping both hands up. The Gurak stared back at him, before motioning to one of the Gurak men.

"Bind him and contain him somewhere for now-and do the same with the one on the floor."

As the Gurak moved to Dagran, a blue glow emmanating from his figure, Dagran immediately thought quickly.

"Wait, let me speak."

The red-haired Gurak looked to him. "What is it?" He snapped.

Dagran swallowed slightly. "I know how to run this laboratory just as well as him," He explained, pointing to Arganan on the floor. "And...assuming that the three of you have been asleep for hundreds of years, human technology has advanced some. I...I'll help you. Just don't throw me in prison."

The red-haired Gurak let out a slow chuckle, before looking to the other two Gurak men. "That...would be delightful, human..."

* * *

"Syrenne, Lowell, Yurick, Zael, come on!"

"What? Where-"

"The Gurak specimens we brought in yesterday-they woke up and attacked! Dagran stayed back to try to get Dr. Arganan to safety-"

"What!? Wait, they woke up!?"

"Yes, they did! Hurry up!"

The seven rushed into a nearby room, Therius quickly using the control panel in the room to shut the door and lock it. He let out a slow breath, turning to the others.

"Syrenne, Yurick, Lowell, Zael, Calista, Jirall and myself...aside from Dagran and Dr. Arganan we're still missing two." He let out a slow breath, looking to Calista. "Mirania and Asthar are in the library, aren't they...?"

Before Calista could answer, the sounds of screams were heard from outside. Jirall shuddered at that, looking around.

"What the hell are we going to do?!" He hissed. "Those monsters could be roaming all over the building by now! And it's not like we can even call for help-it's not like the police knows about this place or anything!"

Calista bit her lower lip. "We can't just leave Asthar and Mirania in danger. We need to tell them about this before they get attacked."

Yurick took out a small, circular sphere. "Good thing I repaired this hologram communicator just now, then. I think Asthar also carries one with him-we should be able to communicate with them that way."

"Good." Therius took the sphere from Yurick, pressing a button on it and waiting for the sphere to open up. They had to tell Asthar and Mirania of what just happened, right away. Otherwise the two could be in danger as well.


	2. Plans

**01\. Plans**

"Miss Mirania, have you found any of the names mentioned in these books...?"

Asthar always had a thing for talking to people formally in the lab. Outside the lab, things were different with him-he was more jolly and casual, but in the lab he was nearly as formal as Therius could be. Perhaps this was how Therius kept getting so serious, knowing to keep his personal life and work life so separate from Asthar. Asthar was, after all, Therius' adoptive father after Therius' parents died in an accident.

Mirania shook her head, putting down the twentieth book. "No, I haven't. What about you, Asthar?" She asked, adjusting her thin glasses.

Asthar shook his head, before he flipped to the next page. "I believe I've found something. Here." He showed the book to her, and Mirania read.

"Zangurak...King of the Gurak. Zesha and Zepha were his two right hand men." She finally managed, looking up at Asthar. "The three Gurak specimens we brought into the lab were those three."

Asthar winced. "We should tell Dr. Arganan as soon as possible-"

That was when the communosphere (a little sphere that people could communicate with others with) floated into existence, opening up and projecting a hologram of Therius.

_"Dr. Asthar? Miss Mirania? Are you there?"_ Therius spoke up, his eyes full of urgency.

Mirania nodded. "Yes, Therius, we're here. What is it?"

Therius seemed to hesitate, before speaking. _"The specimens we brought into the lab only yesterday woke up fifteen minutes ago and attacked us. We're in the dorm area of the lab right now, in Calista's room, but we have no idea where they are right now."_

Asthar stared. "They broke out?" He repeated.

_"Yes. They did. And we've assumed that Dr. Arganan and Dagran have been captured by them."_

Asthar gritted his teeth. "That isn't good. Therius, Mirania and I will find a way to get to you. Just stay where you are for now if you can."

_"Got it."_ Therius' hologram disappeared, and Asthar shut the sphere, putting it into his pocket as Mirania looked to him.

"Zangurak, Zesha and Zepha are all awake?" She repeated. "That can't be good."

"I know." He tried to think. "The library is closer to the lab than the dorms...if I recall, there is a hidden door in this room, but-"

The two went silent at once, trying to listen for movement outside. Mirania instinctively took out a gun, but Asthar shook his head.

"Someone's coming this way." He spoke, his voice full of warning to not shoot at whoever entered, but to hide.

The two of them dashed behind a nearby bookshelf, peeking through the cracks as they heard the door open. There wasn't exactly a clear view of who it was, but judging by what they could see (the jagged silver metal plates, flowing robes, even chain-metal draping over said robes) it definitely wasn't one of their fellow scientists. Mirania then remembered that the specimens had worn such armor. These must be the awakened Gurak specimens Therius spoke of moments ago.

"A library?" The voice was raspy, but obviously masculine. "Fascinating..." Footsteps followed.

"I unfortunately do not see the value in it, brother." Another raspy, masculine voice responded. "Go ahead and enlighten me of it."

A sigh escaped the other before speaking. "Brother, there could be useful information about how to run this laboratory. And to tell us of how the humans have developed since hundreds of years ago. Lord Zangurak may have let that human-what was his name?"

"Dagran, Zepha. His name is Dagran." The other responded.

"Yes, Zesha, that human. Lord Zangurak may have let him assist in showing Lord Zangurak how to run this laboratory, but we should still keep an eye on him. He and the older one seem too close for my liking."

"Agreed."

Asthar looked to Mirania, mouthing his words so that the Gurak would not catch wind of them by accident.

_They have Arganan and Dagran._

Mirania nodded, mouthing her words in return.

_I know. What do we do?_

Asthar looked through the shelves to the two Gurak, then to Mirania.

_We have to get out of here. I have the doubt that they're leaving any time soon-_

"Brother?" Zesha spoke up.

"Yes?" Zepha responded.

"Do you sense...humans?"

Asthar and Mirania both went stiff at that statement.

Zepha could be heard chuckling. "Yes, brother. I do sense them. Do you?"

Zesha let out a soft hum. "Yes."

Mirania and Asthar looked to each other silently, both of them hesitant to mouth anymore phrases to each other in case the Gurak could hear them breathing. They weren't even sure if breathing was safe. Footsteps headed towards the bookshelves where the two were standing behind, and Asthar mouthed something quickly to Mirania.

_Shoot them and run on the count of three. One, two..._

One of the Gurak, with a red aura emmanating from his form, turned around the corner.

_THREE!_

Both Asthar and Mirania fired at the Gurak, who ducked out of the way barely in time. "What the-"

"RUN!" Asthar screamed, grabbing Mirania by the wrist and dragging her deeper into the library. Mirania could hear Zesha screaming in pain, Zepha screaming in anger, could hear the two brothers rushing after them. She still couldn't believe this was happening-she and Asthar being chased by the very same specimens they brought into the lab only yesterday-it just seemed so...unreal.

Mirania looked around, before pointing. "Over there!" The two rushed to a nearby bookcase, and Mirania touched the wall, trying to feel for a button.

"Hurry!" Asthar exclaimed, looking behind him. Mirania nodded, her hands groping for some kind of button on the wall. The bookcase in front of them was supposed to act as a secret door, just in case...

She then felt the cold button, pressed it, and the bookshelf moved immediately to the left, revealing a passageway. Asthar and Mirania ran through, the bookshelf moving back to where it was just as the Gurak brothers appeared from around the corner. Asthar and Mirania could hear the brothers start shooting at the bookcase, growling with frustration, full of malice to hunt them down.

"Do you know where this passage leads to?" Asthar asked as they kept running.

Mirania shook her head. "I don't know. I mean, it's supposed to be a secret passageway for a reason."

"Er, true..."

The two made it through another door, and the warmth of the room felt overwhelming at first. Lush plant life lay all over the place, and they immediately realized that they were in the Greenhouse area. Their pursuers were growing closer with every second. Mirania looked around, before noticing a very large bin. Actually 'tank' would be more like it, as it resembled a dumpster, but Mirania knew that it was not a dumpster.

This was the bin where all the mulch was kept for the greenhouse. Without a word, she grabbed Asthar by the wrist and dragged him to the mulch bin, opening the door (yes, there was a door to this compartment). She quickly shoved him inside the bin without a word, before she crawled in as well, closing the door behind her.

"Do you think they won't find us in here?" Asthar asked, his breath hitching his voice into a hoarse whisper. Mirania merely nodded, putting a finger to his lips to tell him to be quiet.

They heard a loud crash, the cracking of flowerpots hitting the ground, footsteps resounding the greenhouse.

_"Dammit."_ One of the Gurak pursuers muttered. _"We lost them."_

_"We should report to Lord Zangurak," _the other Gurak responded. _"Tell him that there are more humans that are in need of capturing."_

_"Sounds like a good idea, brother. Let's go."_

Footsteps faded away, after a few moments. Mirania let out a slow breath, opening the door of the mulch bin and looking around. Nope. No Gurak in sight.

"It's safe now." The two got out of the mulch bin, Asthar shaking mulch off himself.

"That was too close," The older man managed, looking around just in case they were alone. Yes, they were alone, alone and safe. For now.

Mirania nodded. "I agree with that. We should go try to look for Calista and the others."

The two walked to the other end of the greenhouse quietly, silently, cautiously. "Sounds like a good idea, Miss Mirania."

* * *

Arganan sat miserably behind the laser barrier blocking him from the Gurak skulking about. He'd woken up in here and was practically made their prisoner. Zangurak hadn't done any more torturing to Arganan, after the one time with the electricity. Arganan was grateful for that, at least.

It did not help, however, that he was positively famished. His stomach rumbled slightly, quietly, and he let out a soft groan of complaint. As if it was going to help, anyway.

That was when Dagran walked into the cell, the barrier reappearing behind him after he entered. He dug around in his pockets before handing Arganan a bar of chocolate.

"Here. It's not the greatest, I know, but it was all I could sneak from the pantry for now without the Gurak getting suspicious about my brief absence."

Arganan nodded, taking the bar and unwrapping it, biting into it and savouring the bittersweet taste. "Thank you." He whispered softly between bites.

Dagran nodded, sitting beside him. "You holding up well?"

The older man nodded after taking another bite of chocolate and swallowing. "Reluctantly, yes. I just wonder how the Gurak woke up like that earlier. They were clearly in a state close to comatose. Waking up that quickly should not be possible."

Dagran looked around, nodding. "Yeah, I know. I'm thinking that the Gurak bodily functions are different than humans, despite the similarities. I wish I made some brain scans of the Gurak yesterday. They could have been useful."

"True."

The two sat there silently, and Arganan finished eating. Dagran then took the opportunity ti break the silence.

"Do you remember when I first walked into the lab? When we first had an actual conversation with each other other than research related material?"

Arganan looked to him, biting his lower lip. "What are you getting at?"

Dagran just kept talking, ignoring the question. "I remember when we even had sex the one time? Or was it three times? We slept like rocks after the first time and were nearly late for breakfast."

The older man shuddered at the memory, the kisses and touches.

"No more, Dagran." He hissed sharply, looking to him, his face hardening into a glare and a desperate look. "That fling is over. We should have stopped even before the second time. If Lowell had told others about it, we'd never hear the end of it. It would have ruined both of us."

Dagran gently put a hand to his shoulder, a calm look on his face.

"Doctor." Dagran's voice was quiet. "I just wanted to let you know that I didn't see it as a fling."

The older man didn't know whether to feel relieved, surprised, or a mixture of both. "Y-you didn't?" His breath hitched slightly at that.

Dagran merely nodded, gazing straight into the Doctor's one good eye. "Yeah. I didn't see what we had like that. Saw it as something better than that."

Arganan leaned his head against the younger man's shoulder. "Thank you, Dagran." he managed quietly. "..I appreciate it."

Dagran grinned slightly, before looking to him. "I have a plan. To stop the Gurak. But first I need an idea of what their plans are, and we'll need to bide our time with them. Once I see something of a weakness that I can exploit, I'm going to expose that and we're going to get out of here. Trust me."

Arganan nodded. "I trust you." The words came out quicker than he meant, but Dagran seemed to understand. He paused, looking around to make sure no one was watching before he pressed a light kiss to Arganan's forehead, standing up and turning to leave the cell.

"Just hang in there. I'll get you out one way or another."

Arganan said nothing, watching as Dagran stepped out of the cell, the laser barrier closing behind him, separating them.

But not for too long. At least, that was what Arganan hoped.


	3. Hide

**02\. Hide**

Therius knew that Asthar had warned him, yes, to stay put.

But Therius also wanted to make sure Dagran and Dr. Arganan were safe, too.

So, going against Asthar's orders, he and Calista snuck out of the room, telling hte others to stay put, that they would be back soon. Therius made sure to keep one of those communication spheres with him just in case Zael or Asthar had to contact him again.

Calista let out a slow breath as she looked around, clutching the gun she had tightly, shakily. Therius frowned as he looked to her.

"Are you alright, Calista?"

Calista nodded quickly, too quickly. "I'm okay. It's just..." A breath escaped her. "Are you sure this is a good idea? Asthar and Mirania could be coming closer to the others right this minute. If they miss us, we'll just be further separated from them, especially if we run into the Gurak."

Therius sighed quietly. "Calista, I know what you mean by that, but we can't just leave Dagran and Dr. Arganan behind. The sooner we find them and recover them, the better. And we have time on our side at the moment. The Gurak cannot have searched through this entire laboratory, so therefore it'll be harder for them to find us."

Calista nodded, but there was still uncertainty in her eyes. "Okay..."

That was when the two heard voices.

"Brother? Any sign of the humans?"

The voice was raspy, quiet. Another voice answered, a bit louder.

"No, brother. I have not sensed them..."

Therius and Calista went quiet in an instant. Though neither could recognize the voices, they could guess that the two owners of the voices were most likely two of the Gurak specimens that woke up. Therius turned off the safety on his gun slowly, and Calista did the same.

They couldn't afford to get caught by the Gurak. Not now.

Therius bit his lower lip, waiting for a moment before turning to face the Gurak, firing at them. One of them, with a red aura about them, was hit in the shoulder, a shriek escaping him as the bullet pierced through his armor and into his flesh. He growled, sending a long arrow out of nowhere towards Therius, who rolled out of the way in time, before the Gurak fell.

"Damn..."

"Brother!" The other Gurak, one with a blue aura surrounding him, quickly caught the red-auraed one in his arms, clutching onto him tightly as he glared up at Therius and Calista.

"How _dare _you," He hissed. The blue aura about him flickered wildly, glowing and full of rage. "You will pay dearly for hurting my lover..."

"Your...lover?" Therius repeated. In that instant, the blue-auraed Gurak regretted his mistake, looking down for a moment as he helped his brother get up. "You're both brothers and lovers at the same time...?"

The red-auraed one glared at Therius and Calista. "It is none of your business, human." He snapped, before a gold, transparent arrow appeared, launching itself towards them. Calista tackled Therius out of the way as the arrow sailed above their heads. The two hit the floor hard, and Calista heard Therius mutter a pained grunt. She could feel his warm breath tickle her ear, and she rolled off him, sitting up and pointing a gun at...nothing but thin air.

The two Gurak, the brothers/lovers, were gone.

* * *

"Any sign?"

"No, Asthar. What about you?"

"No, Mirania. None. I think we've lost them completely for now."

Asthar and Mirania slowly walked down the hallway, still feeling wary of Gurak that could be possibly trailing them. Mirania wasn't quite sure as of what to do besides reconnect with Therius, Calista and the others. Well, _don't die_ was deifnitely one thing, and_ don't get caught by Gurak _was another, but what else?

Oh, right. They had to figure out how to overpower the Gurak, too. Or at least make amends with them.

As if it was going to be easy. Finding their friends was the main objective, but considering that there were Gurak running around, it wasn't going to be easy at all.

"Mirania?"

Mirania looked up to see Asthar, concern etched on his face. "are you alright? You seemed to be staring off into space..."

Mirania nodded. "I'm okay, Asthar. I was just thinking about the Gurak we encountered earlier. They were brothers, I'm sure of it. It makes me wonder what their family structures were like...I mean, I know I've researched them in textbooks and files and such, but still. To actually talk to them..."

Asthar frowned. "As much as it interests me also to look at them, I think we'll need to think of them as more than just mere specimens or enemies, since they're alive now. I mean...I'd like to avoid further conflict. Seeing them as enemies and specimens is probably best to be kept out of hte question, and it's best that we come to a non-violent resolution if we are to regain control of the whole laboratory."

Mirania nodded, smiling a little. "I'm...glad to hear that. And thank you. I should remember that, too."

Asthar smiled at that. "Thank you." The two were silent once again as they walked down the hallway, and they opened a door to realize two things.

First was that they had basically went into a full circle and ended up in the greenhouse sectrion of the lab again.

The other was that the two Gurak brothers they saw earlier were lying some distance away from them. Or, rather, one of them had lain the other in the grass, desperately trying to heal the other's wounds.

"Zepha..." The wounded one whispered.

The blue-aurared Gurak, Zepha, shook his head, kissing his forehead. "Don't speak, Zesha. It seems that though I've awakened, my healing magic hasn't quite activated yet despite waking up after all those years...I'm going to find something to heal you with, brother. In the meantime, just stay here. And keep out of sight of those humans."

He turned to go, but Zesha grabbed his hand gently. "C-come back soon," He croaked. Mirania noticed the blood trailing from his shoulder. It was a lot of blood, and she looked down to realize that Zepha must have dragged Zesha here. They must have only gotten here moments before Asthar and Mirania did, as the blood trail was still fresh.

Zepha looked to Zesha sadly, kissing him gently on the lips. "I will." He whispered. "I'll be back soon," He then disappeared in a heartbeat.

Mirania looked to Asthar. "Those two we encountered before..."

Asthar nodded solemnly. "I know. We can't just leave him like that. But if we were to move him to the infirmary Zepha won't know where is, and assume that we took him. But if we stay and he comes back before we finish treating Zesha, he's going to be hostile. Either way it's a risk."

Mirania nodded. "Yeah, I know..."

Either way there was a risk. The safest option would be to just leave.

But Mirania and Asthar knew that leaving someone to possibly die was not a nice option.

So they went to him.

Zesha looked at them, summoning a long arrow, but not shooting yet. "Don't come any closer." He snapped.

Mirania and Asthar stopped. "And you want to die of blood loss?" Asthar shot back in question. "You and your brother don't know the entire laboratory. It could be possibly hours before you get treatment."

Zesha glared back. "Better to die than to be in the grasp of you humans. Your kind killed both my parents and many of my people."

"But that was _then,"_ Mirania responded. "This is now. What about your brother? I don't think he'd want to come back and see you dead!"

The Gurak gazed at Mirania quietly, saying nothing for a moment, and then spoke, chuckling weakly. "You...know how to read me, human..." He nodded quietly, giving them permission to come closer as the arrow disappeared.

Asthar tore some cloth from his sleeve to act as a temporary bandage as Mirania rushed about the greenhouse, trying to collect any herbs that were there.

"There should be something here that can help speed up the healing of open wounds like this...Asthar, keep pressure on the wound."

Asthar did so, looking to Zesha. The Gurak looked weak, but...they had to help him, because they could. And who knows how long it would take for Zepha to come back.

"...more.."

Asthar looked to Zesha. "What?"

"There..." He took a deep breath. "There are more of us in the lab than three. More than three. Lord Zangurak went to where we slept for years...and awakened the others."

Asthar's eyes widened as he processed this information.

There were even _more_ Gurak in this lab now? Three was trouble enough, but even more...

...This was not going to end well.


End file.
